Boldin vs FIRECalc
Boldin
boldin.comFIRECalc
firecalc.comSide by side
| Figure | Boldin | FIRECalc |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $12/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 5 | 1 |
| Spec score · Retirement Planning Software | 9.4 (#1) | 7.8 (#13) |
| Privacy | Boldin says it does not sell user data, require a Social Security number, real name, or account numbers, or store purchase card numbers. | FIRECalc says it does not store users' financial entries; temporary files for spreadsheets and graphics are session-only and deleted approximately 15 minutes after creation. |
| Purpose | Boldin is a financial planning platform for building plans around a person's resources, values, goals, and priorities. | FIRECalc helps assess whether savings and planned spending can sustain a retirement across historical market conditions. |
| Support | Users can contact support through in-product chat or by emailing [email protected], and bug tickets are reviewed by customer-service representatives. | The contact page directs usage questions to the FIRECalc support section of the Early Retirement forum and accepts bug reports and suggestions. |
Plans
Boldin
- BasicFree
- BasicFree
- PlannerPlus$144 a year
- PlannerPlus$168 a year
- Boldin Advisors$3,200, paid once
In their own words
Boldin
Boldin is a financial planning platform for shaping a household plan around resources, goals, values, and priorities. Its Planner covers income and spending alongside Social Security, benefits, taxes, real estate, and other parts of household finances. Users can model alternatives, review projections, and stress-test plans with Monte Carlo analysis. Connected accounts use Plaid, MX, and Mastercard (Finicity) to update balances, but cost basis, allocations, and transactions need to be entered manually for an accurate plan. The free Basic plan includes 100+ inputs, two interactive explorers, 10+ charts, and up to five AI questions daily. PlannerPlus costs $144/yr after a 14-day trial and adds account linking, tax projections, multiple scenarios, and other tools. Boldin Advisors is listed at $3,200 flat fee. The service is available on Android, iOS, and web. Support options include classes, coaching, chat, a community, financial education, and CFP® professionals; trial users receive technical help but not coaching or step-by-step setup assistance.
FIRECalc
FIRECalc is a free web calculator for assessing whether savings, planned spending, and other resources could sustain retirement. It tests plans against historical market conditions beginning in 1871 and reports how often the portfolio would have remained funded for the selected term across historical starting years. Users can include Social Security, pensions, and other income or spending adjustments. Spending options include inflation-adjusted constant amounts, Bernicke's Reality Retirement Plan, and a percentage of the remaining portfolio. Portfolio settings allow historical investment portfolios, fees, and consistent or random returns. Planning inputs can include a future retirement date, annual contributions before retirement, and future lump-sum changes. Defaults are a 75% stock-index and 25% bond-fund portfolio, a 0.18% fund fee, and inflation-adjusted spending over 30 years. FIRECalc says it cannot predict future returns and does not provide tax planning. The homepage reports data through January 1, 2026, updated April 17, 2026. It says it does not store financial entries; temporary spreadsheet and graphic files are deleted after about 15 minutes.